''They grow at the same rate on both hands and they've already been cut three times. So whatever it is that makes your nails grow must come from me,'' he said.

Mr Cahill said he would not have been able to accept a hand that looked out of place - such as one from a female donor - but he felt anything was better than his existing hand, which he lost the use of due to severe gout.

He said: ''I can see why people with two hands don't understand. But going from a hand that can't do anything, it doesn't seem unusual. Having a hand that is warm, that feels, that is part of you, is much better than a prosthetic limb.''

The new limb is already able to feel pins and needles if Mr Cahill taps a nerve in his arm and the next stage of his recovery should see the feeling returning.

Within the next few months, he should be able to use his hand to pick things up and tie his shoelaces.

Mr Cahill has no regrets about the surgery, despite having to take immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of his life and suffering a rejection scare three days after the operation.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals announced in late 2011 that it was starting to look for candidates for hand or arm transplants.

Potential patients went through a series of health checks and psychological assessment to ensure they had carefully considered the implications of the procedure.

Mr Cahill, who is married to Sylvia and has one daughter, was one of two potential candidates when the donated limb became available on Boxing Day.

The hospital said he was selected because he was the best tissue match.

The operation, by a team led by consultant plastic surgeon Professor Simon Kay, used a new technique which involved Mr Cahill having his non-functioning right hand removed during the same operation as the donor hand was transplanted.

This procedure allowed very accurate restoration of nerve structures and it is believed to be the first time this approach has been used, surgeons said.